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Chapter 24
Previous Chapter Marcus woke up. Still blurry-eyed, he looked around his surroundings. White curtains? A bed? It was too sanitary. He deduced he was in a hospital of some sort. His head pounding, he tried to remember what had happened. He remembered waking up in some street. A bearded and ragged man warning him. Then he remembered the large meteorite. And Onyx! Marcus sprang up, but then fell back onto his bed. His body ached in protest. How did he get here, though? He blinked and rubbed his eyes, realizing that it was bandaged up. Now that he was more awake, he seemed to recall one of the nurses wondering aloud "how on Earth this hobo would pay without any insurance". His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. A doctor in a white coat walked in, followed by a familiar man in a pinstripe suit. "Ah!" said the doctor. "You're finally awake, Mr. Smith!" "Wh-what? I – uh, yeah." Marcus saw that Carter Rook had given him a look. "Where am I?" Marcus asked. "You're in the Grove City Hospital," said Carter. "You've been out for only a few hours." The doctor glanced at his clipboard. "Well! I'll gather the nurses and get you all checked up. If everything seems fine, you'll be free to go, Mr. Smith." said the doctor. He nodded towards Marcus, then turned and exited the room. Before Marcus could ask, Carter began answering. "You're here as Adam Smith, a pseudonym to keep your anonymity. All of your medical expenses today are covered by government dollars. Also, I've already ensured that the room is not bugged, so we can talk in peace." Carter turned on the hospital TV. The hanging monitor showed the local news. An interview between two ladies had just finished, and the news anchor was now talking about a candlelight vigil being held in the city. Carter aggressively tapped the volume button on the remote, drowning out the city noises from the window. "Just in case anyone is listening in on us." Marcus took his time, processing all this information. Nothing about the current situation raised any alarms on an instinctual level, and his Malicesight confirmed that as well. "The last thing I clearly remember was passing out after an encounter with a MERLIN agent... Onyx was his name. Then all I heard were police sirens," said Marcus. Carter nodded his head. "I know. I think Onyx escaped. I had to concentrate on getting the ambulance to take you straight here, and I forged some documents so they could start checking you in." Marcus's face scrunched, remembering the dirty overpass. "Are you sure Rook? I wasn't anywhere else? I remember waking up on the street. There was this old man..." Carter gave him a questioning look. "I'm positive. The ambulance took you straight here from the mountain. Was it a dream?" Marcus believed him; there was no reason for Carter to be lying. There was a polite knock, and then the doctor entered the room. He shooed Carter like a fussy mother and took Marcus's arm. "You seem to be in alright condition!" said the doctor, surprised. "I was told you had some broken bones." "Maybe they were mistaken," said Marcus, trying to pass off nervousness as sheepishness. He knew the reason he had healed was actually his Lifeforce. After a physical checkup, "Adam Smith" was released with a clean bill of health into the waiting room, where Carter was reading one of the magazines. "What's the plan now?" asked Carter, still engrossed. Marcus looked outside, where the night was already claiming the last bits of sunlight of the day. "It's time to go to the Eye of the Storm. It's a bar in the city," explained Marcus. Carter raised an eyebrow. "Why would we go to a bar?" he asked. Marcus shook his head. "I know the owner of that place. Blanco, that bastard. It's time to pay him a visit." Next Chapter